The 2012 Maryland Film Festival was held the first weekend of May and I was fortunate enough to be able to volunteer as a Box Office Sales Rep each day. It allowed me to speak with attendees and cinephiles alike. Not only did I work, but I got to see loads of films and catch many great Q&A’s. Most of the films you’ll read about in the festival posts will not be easy to search for at your local theatre or Netflix queue becase many are still in distribution limbo and haven’t been picked up yet (as is the case with many festivals). Don’t let it discourage you! Just be patient and keep counting down the days until (insert a summer blockbuster you’re looking forward too i.e. The Dark Knight Rises) opens! But if you need a quick fix, check out www.md-filmfest.com for a complete list of films and their filmmakers.

 

Pilgrim Song (2012) Directed by Martha Stephens. Starring:  Michael Abbott Jr., Sonny Burnette and Kristin Slaysman. IMDB says “Seeking escape from his stalled relationship and unhappy place in the world, a recently pink-slipped music teacher sets out to hike Kentucky’s Sheltowee Trace Trail.”

 

I hadn’t heard much about the film until I spoke with a fellow volunteer. She had told me she was checking out the film because some of her friends were AmeriCorps volunteers. I was an AmeriCorps volunteer down in New Orleans so I figured maybe I’ll get an inside joke or two. I didn’t think to read the premise until after I had bought a ticket, but it seemed enjoyable enough. A man is having a rough time in life so he’s going to hike a trail in the wilderness for two months. Again, seemed enjoyable. I made my way into the Charles Theatre (this particular screening, as well as Compliance and God Bless America took place in Theatre 1 which is by far their most comfortable and relaxing theatre) found a seat towards the back and…

The title of this film doesn’t hit the screen until a few scenes in which ends up being an odd premonition of just how slow the film would move. Now I don’t expect too much action with a guy hiking in the woods by himself. This isn’t Cast Away or any other big budget survival story; it’s an indie film about a man finding himself again. While it does do that, it places the character in interesting but not necessarily intriguing circumstances. It’s almost as if they ran out of ideas in what the character should do or how he should do it so he stumbles across a barn hoe-down, a stoner volunteer park ranger, and ends up spending more than time than what’s necessary with a man and his son spending the summer in an RV at a park. All of this should be fascinating but when the characters introduced are less interesting than the already uninteresting main character, the film starts to drag and feel tedious. The soundtrack is a folksy bluegrass hike through the Kentucky Mountains and comes around every so often to dance for us but you’re already uninterested in the movie you hardly notice it. I wanted to like this film but it goes stagnant and ends up not offering much. Combined with a typical indie film ending, if you want to call it that, this film falls short on all rounds. Don’t go out of your way for this one.

I only stuck around for the first few questions because I wanted to make see another film, but not only did the director take the stage, but the female lead, male lead, producer, cinematographer, executive producer, and a few crew members made their way up there. Unlike most indie films, all the lines were scripted. There was no imporovisation through what the director called a “southern odyssey” through this “showcase of the natural beauty of Kentucky.”